As far as professional sports owners go, Mark Cuban seems to have a different agenda than, say, Wellington Mara.

In his latest attention-grabber, the Mavericks’ billionaire owner offered several sexually-explicit answers in an interview in the March issue of Penthouse.

In the city for the Mavs-Knicks game at the Garden last night, Cuban, 42, defended making his risqué comments, saying he was just being “honest.” He even compared himself to a former president, who was interviewed by Playboy a few years ago.

“I’m in the esteemed company of Jimmy Carter,” the boyish-looking Cuban said before the Knicks’ 96-93 double OT victory, standing while fiddling with a basketball on the court. “He talked about lust in his heart.”

Cuban, who was wearing a blue long-sleeve polo shirt with a new Mavs emblem, jeans and sneakers, said he has heard from the NBA office about the article, but has not been fined, nor does he expect to be disciplined. He said the league learned of the story about two weeks ago. A league spokesman said yesterday that the league had no comment on the article.

In his first full season as Mavs owner, Cuban, a Pittsburgh native who has lived in Dallas for 18 years, has been fined five times totaling $395,000. His offenses have varied from criticizing referees and sitting alongside the baseline by the team’s bench during a game.

Still, he claims to have a good relationship with commissioner David Stern.

“We get along very well,” Cuban said.

Before buying the Mavs last season for $280 million, Cuban became one of the country’s richest people by selling his Broadcast.com to Yahoo, taking home $2 billion in the deal.

A regular at home and road games, Cuban has put his stamp on all aspects of the Mavs. He bought the team a $36 million airplane and has garnished the home locker room with $50,000 worth of luxury items, including extra-thick towels.

Each player’s locker is stocked with a DVD player, Play Station, a stereo and a flat screen television. In addition, expensive orthopedic chairs line the team’s bench. On the road, the team stays at top-of-the-line hotels, such as the Trump International at Columbus Circle, in which Cuban owns an apartment.

He is also involved in making trades, often trying to work deals with GMs and team presidents, such as Michael Jordan (who is on his speed-dial). His efforts are paying off as the Mavs are enjoying their best season in several years.

As for his candid comments in Penthouse, Cuban said there’s nothing wrong with talking about his sex life.

“To ask about my sexual life is no big deal,” said Cuban, who acknowledged interest in buying an XFL team. “There’s a barrier to be broken.

“Some people expect me to act differently because of my bank account and I won’t. I refuse to. If you would have asked me the same questions 10 years ago, you would have gotten the same answers and you’d see me dressing the same way and doing the same things. I’m not going to change just because I got lucky in the stock market. I don’t lose my rights as a human being.”

All of his comments in the article were not graphic, however. He said the super hero he would most like to be is Superman because “the chicks dig him.”

An Indiana University graduate, he said he’d hire Bobby Knight as a consultant for the Mavs, and that he often eats food from 7-11.

“I’m not going to say or not say something if I think it’s right,” Cuban said. “That’s just the way I am.”